Show Synopsis

In Australia, people who engage in pawning their possessions are known as ‘Hockers’. Meet the Hockers is the newest TV series on Aussie hocking that focuses not only on the often quirky and curious items being pawned but also on the many and varied characters who hock, their motives for doing so and their expectations for the money gained.

Set in Australia’s oldest and largest pawnshop - Aceben - Meet the Hockers reveals a slice of life in Sydney’s Chinatown. The store’s central characters are Aceben's pawnbroking extraordinaire: Mike - the manager; Pauly– the resident prankster; Jess - a country sweetheart living in the big smoke; Jaz - who calls a spade a spade; and Aaron – the class clown.

When someone can’t obtain credit and needs cash fast, a pawnbroker is one of the options. People come to pawn shops for a variety of reasons and bring objects and stories with them. The series aims to explore some of these stories and of the people who work at Aceben who have a variety of skills and experience that allow them to interact with the public and make quick assessments of the value of a wide range of objects, from a gold diamond encrusted knuckle duster, a depression era diamond ring, rare guitar through to a Mercedes Benz and luxury boat. There are also unusual stories such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra cellist who uses the pawnshop as a cheap secure storage facility for his valuable cello or the unredeemed war medals that the Australian War memorial has undertaken a search to try to reunite the medals with the serviceman’s family.

Lighthearted, often funny, sometimes sad, this new TV series will please current fans of pawn programming but offer a different feel and texture from its American peers. Its revealing of the Australian character, approach to negotiation and the colourful characters who frequent this fascinating area of Sydney.

Meet the Hockers is a fresh, new and engaging approach to the pawn genre. Catch it on Nine Go!